A lover of the real and the bizarre, great plots and even better sentences.

But since I think everyone should get step out of their comfort zone for a minute, I’m participating in this year’s Nanowrimo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. Nanowrimo starts every year on November 1st and for the whole month, thousands of people will write a novel, word by word, while trying to accomplishing their total word count. The prize: the ability to say honestly that you wrote a novel.

This will be the third year I’ve participated and I am determined to accomplish my word count of 50,000 words. What is my book about or its title, you ask? I have no idea. I barely have my protagonist’s name.

But that will not stop me.

I will write word after word until I reach my goal despite tests, studying, family, and life in general. I will get to 50, 000 words by writing 1,667 words a day. I just have no idea what I’m going to reward myself with at the end. Maybe with a nice book._____________________

It’s Halloween night and not one child has knocked on my door. I’m glad I’m not the one who bought the candy this year. But no worries; I have Angela Carter’s fairy tale masterpiece The Bloody Chamber to keep me company on this spooky night.

I heard about Angela Carter through a review by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. Then recently I read a great essay called “The Angela Carter Workshop” in Tin House. The essay’s author, Ricky Moody, described what it was like to be a student in one of her workshops and to have an ongoing correspondence with her.

Carter went and retold old stories in a way that leaves the reader in awe. I know I held my breath several times while reading “The Company of Wolves,” a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Once I finished reading it, I had to read the story over again. Highly recommended.

3 Responses to Nanowrimo and The Bloody Chamber

I’m at my parents house and have been all night. We didn’t get one person either. Meanwhile we heard one of my dad’s friends who lives in a “hamlet” (small town) who had 70 kids and counting.

Good luck with Nanowrimo. I’d like to participate some day in the future when kids are older and I’ve had more practice writing. I’m thinking of doing one writing exercise a day for November on my main blog.